MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

On May 13, in Geneva, the first meeting of the Joint Committee established within the Georgia-EFTA Free Trade Agreement was held in Geneva. The Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Genadi Arveladze chaired the meeting.

The parties exchanged information on the implementation of the agreement, with particular emphasis on the achievement of the objectives set out in the chapter on trade and sustainable development of the agreement. The delegations also exchanged views on the implemented economic reforms, bilateral trade relations between the countries and the prospects for their development. They also discussed the developments in the field of e-commerce, as well as the need to add the e-commerce into the Agreement.

Decision of the Joint Committee on amending Annex II (Rules of Origin and Methods of Administrative Cooperation) to the Free Trade Agreement between Georgia and the EFTA countries was signed during the meeting. The Amendment is not intended to change the rules of origin between Georgia and EFTA, but will allow an alternative to the revised version of the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Rule of Preferential Rules for some products to benefit economic operators who choose in its favour.

The Joint Committee of the European Free Trade Association and Georgia was established within the framework of the EFTA-Georgia Free Trade Agreement, which was signed on June 27, 2016 and has been in force since September 2017.